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<blockquote data-quote="Dr. Strangemonkey" data-source="post: 701679" data-attributes="member: 6533">I think skill emphasis is a great way to go.Both Swashbuckling Adventures and Rokugan did great jobs with this.Basically any human character who want to claim the advantages of any Culture gives up two of the four first level bonus points and gets two free class skills.&nbsp; So if you grew up on the great steppe with the Horse Lords and learned how to ride alongside learning how to walk, then you can always put points into that skill at 1 for 1 even if you're fighter.&nbsp; It's something you're always doing and training for since you're always going to approach life with Horse Lord passions and practices.Ethnicity shouldn't really have as large an effect as culture in any evaluation of humans in a fantasy setting.&nbsp; Unless you are dealing with a conception of humans that is radically different from the traditional as well as the real world, then the primary human attribute should be a certain level of adaptability and flexibility based on short lives combined with a fair amount of larger success and mobility.&nbsp; Most of the subraces of elves and whatnot differ from each other either in fairly subtle ways or in ways that make sense given a radically different environment and evolution.In the real world ethnicities are so genetically diverse that the variety is just as great within one as without.&nbsp; There are a very few exceptions, like all the traits that leap the curve in Basques.&nbsp; The only modern culture that lives in such an extreme situation that it would merit an ability bonus might be Andeans or Himalayans who develop extreme lung capacities.&nbsp; Though I don't know if that advantage dissapears if people are transplanted to lowland areas, or if it's really general enough to net a constitution bonus.If you were concerned about Barbarians having greater physical ability, you might just rule that the average is higher for that culture given a survival rate that will weed out those who are born with lower stats.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dr. Strangemonkey, post: 701679, member: 6533"] I think skill emphasis is a great way to go. Both Swashbuckling Adventures and Rokugan did great jobs with this. Basically any human character who want to claim the advantages of any Culture gives up two of the four first level bonus points and gets two free class skills. So if you grew up on the great steppe with the Horse Lords and learned how to ride alongside learning how to walk, then you can always put points into that skill at 1 for 1 even if you're fighter. It's something you're always doing and training for since you're always going to approach life with Horse Lord passions and practices. Ethnicity shouldn't really have as large an effect as culture in any evaluation of humans in a fantasy setting. Unless you are dealing with a conception of humans that is radically different from the traditional as well as the real world, then the primary human attribute should be a certain level of adaptability and flexibility based on short lives combined with a fair amount of larger success and mobility. Most of the subraces of elves and whatnot differ from each other either in fairly subtle ways or in ways that make sense given a radically different environment and evolution. In the real world ethnicities are so genetically diverse that the variety is just as great within one as without. There are a very few exceptions, like all the traits that leap the curve in Basques. The only modern culture that lives in such an extreme situation that it would merit an ability bonus might be Andeans or Himalayans who develop extreme lung capacities. Though I don't know if that advantage dissapears if people are transplanted to lowland areas, or if it's really general enough to net a constitution bonus. If you were concerned about Barbarians having greater physical ability, you might just rule that the average is higher for that culture given a survival rate that will weed out those who are born with lower stats. [/QUOTE]

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